I keep having stupid (?) thoughts about just selling up, picking up a decent bike, tent, etc and just setting off, with no real plans, apart from a general idea of a route I might ride till the money runs out, the real appeal is the cost of this, wild camping and all my real need will be for food, if I need need to take a plane, I could just take my luggage and get rid of the bike, like russia > USA?

I realize transport long haul, such as planes and boats would be the most expensive problem and having enough food on me to last me weeks at a time, i'd possibly have to find someway to make money on the road, as my funds aren't huge, but respectable

How crazy is this?

My route goes something like,
Starting in UK, ride to hull, get the boat across to somewhere in skandi, then riding down to the Baltic's, heading towards Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia, towards Magadan, then getting a plane across to Canada, riding down towards the USA, doing the USA, visiting most states, down one coast, across, up the other coast then do the middle... Then possibly head towards the middle east, Indonesia, china, Aus, Asia, even china...

How crazy would just be setting out without any real plans, just a bike, passports, food and some money?

Would it be as stupid as other people tell me it is?
:confused1:

Sounds perfectly sensible to me..

A little forward thinking considering VISAs and entry requirments maybe a good idea though, apart from that.... Go for it

__________________
Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

I'm with Ted - sounds good to me; expensive though - even on $50 per day it's gonna cost you about $20,000 per year.

Would suggest some forward planning though....

And then what?

Sherlock

With a little more forward planning, I guess I would have to get a route of country's I would like to travel through?

So world map > Research which will need visa's etc?

Wondering, $50 a day you say?

How come you think so much?

Wild camping, then food is my only real essential?
Rice, pasta, porridge can be bought in big loads and cheaply, pre-forward it to destinations to pick up, as I go along, would mean I'd have a bulk of food to go on.

Ofcourse, i'm been totally optimisitc and it could all go wrong, but that's the fun, right?

I think I read about that guy that circumnavigated the world by only human power traveled for 16 years and cost him £150,000 I believe. Or something like that.

$50 per day is pretty low, I think - think;

food
fuel
insurance - bike, self, medical evacuation
running costs for bike

maintenance - oil, tyres, chains, sprockets, the unexpected

and that's just for starters....and you gotta buy the bike and/or prep it in the first place.....

I think we are talking about a push bike

__________________
Chris
-----------------
"Never have a stupid argument with an idiot - he gets a lot more practice than you"
there I go again
not too hard really

ha ha ha ha ha

Stupid me!!!

I thought this was a motorcycle forum!!!!

Sherlock

If that is what you'd like to do and you have the opportunity, the only stupid thing would be NOT to do it...

The only crazy thing in that idea is that it goes against the way "normal" people would behave: what better reason do you have to actually think for yourself and do what you want, rather than what conformity preaches?

As mentioned Visas are probably further planning ahead for or you may find you have some long waits when you could have been on the road to the next new secion of horizon.

Other than that a vague route is the best way to go: almost anyone on here will tell you that to have successful trips flexibility is paramount and that even the best laid plans usuallly go out of the window within a week of setting off.

In other words planning is more something to spend time on before the trip happens rather than being particularly useful once on the trip.

Go for it and don't worry: something always turns up, when you're in a pickle!!

__________________
Adventure: it's an experience, not a style!
(so ride what you like, but ride it somewhere new!)

The OP just needs to realize from the start that in the absence of any sense of how such things work (which is what his/her two posts indicate), it's not going to turn out the way he/she dreams it will.

Personally, it doesn't sound like a pushbike sort've a tour to me; this would take many years, perhaps decades. And no one who's not tried it can really predict whether they'll be able to sustain carrying, for example, food to last "weeks at a time," while "wild camping" even in Europe or North America, much less elsewhere on a pushbike. And no matter whether pushbike, motorbike, backpack or whatever--probably it's better to ease in gradually rather than burn all bridges in pursuit of a totally unsustainable pipe dream.

But maybe that's just me and my old, tired, worn-to-a-frazzle middle-aged sensibilities speaking.

Good luck!

Mark

Have a look at Lonely Planets bike section and get some inspiration.

Also crazy guy on a bike site.

For a cheap trip look for south east asia. You don't even need a tent there.

Wild camping sounds cheap and romantic but isn't possible everywhere

__________________
Poul
May you enjoy peace and good health !

+1 for this site. LOADS of inspirational journals from people who have done exactly what you are asking about ala "push" bike.

There is plenty on this site too.

Plenty of good advice in this thread alone.

Go for it.

Take a Seat | Catch up | STV Player

Good film of Alaska - Argentina by push bike for those interested (a tandem though...)

__________________
Mike


www.singapore-scotland.blogspot.com
www.argentina-alaska.blogspot.com
My little Vid: India/Pakistan

BMW R1150GS
Suzuki DR650 SE: Ride it like ya stole it. Oh, somebody just did...

Sounds like great fun to me!

You wouldn’t need food to last weeks at a time – maybe a couple days at most in less populated areas. Always some granola bars or similar as an emergency reserve. Clean water will be an issue in some areas, meaning you pack a filtration system or buy bottles.

You’d probably want to research visa duration and possible extensions … if some country provides two-week visas and it’s gonna take you a month to cross it, you’d need to figure that out.

Why not? If you’ve got the time and funds and the will to do it, do it. You’ll find out soon enough if you love it or hate it. It does require a particular personality (i.e. slightly whacked!) to make it over the long haul especially if you are going solo.

Really the transport shouldn’t be that costly. Airfares are down these days, and all airlines last I knew will transport a bicycle in a box for … hmmmm not sure. It was $75 USD when I was doing my long-distance bicycle touring in the late ‘80s.

Upfront costs might be a hit if you select the best -- i.e. lightest & most durable -- gear. And some hotel costs, or costs for a proper campground with shower … you can’t really wild camp every single night, can you? I couldn’t!

Good luck, sounds like a blast.

__________________
http://ridefar.typepad.com

Just ride until you run out of money...

You will learn far more on the road than from a forum !!

Going by push iron means you wont have any legal complications with your vehicle.

__________________
Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

Hah! No wonder we had conflicting views, this is in the bicycle section isn't it?

On the food note - that was on the basis of the book such as ''Into the wild'' and that guy that tried to be self sustainable in Canada for 90 days for a TV programme.
You could look at it that way, but when you currently have no real bridges to burn, with my somewhat warped sense of relationships and so, I don't have any real problems, I do realize the length that I am talking, I know it could take years, that's the whole point, if I wanted a 6month blast I could use my motorbike, if it goes tit's up, I can always go home and say I tried.

That's a good idea, thanks, will defiantly check out Lonely Planets section.

I guess it isn't always possible, but will hopefully be my main form of sleeping arrangements.


Thanks for the more positive words, I assume selling my motorbike will fund most of what I need to buy, good tent, sleeping bag, £3000 or so should get me a damn good bike and equipment...

I guess the length of the ride is the big thing, visa's would be a consideration.

That's what I really want to do! But I guess it's not that possible...

Things I seem to need to worry about is:
1. Visa's, including a general route of country's that I want to go through
2. Some type of routine, ie 1 night every 10 in a hotel or real campsite, as you say, complete wild would make some hygiene problems and what not.
3. How much weight I could carry on a bike,
4. Keeping in contact and mapping, I assume it would be hard keeping people updated with my movement, it would limit the possibility of GPS and such, unless I can get an alternator powered by peddling.
5. Do I have the balls!